Thursday, November 15, 2007

Fearless Dilettante Football Predictions - Fun Size Edition

As the season moves on, we're running out of teams. Pretty soon I'll be down to picking the Packer game and that's about it. But here we go.

Kimberly Papermakers 34, DeForest Kellys 17. Actually, I think DeForest's nickname is the Norskies, making this contest a dorky nickname match for the ages. I think the only way it could be worse is if you scheduled a game between the Amherst College Lord Jeffs and the Heidelberg College Student Princes. But the mighty Papermakers will vanquish the Norskie Nooks, get the hardware and claim the Wisconsin D-2 championship.

ACTUAL RESULT: KIMBERLY 20, DEFOREST 7. Congratulations to the Papermakers, who are the little team that could. It's difficult to argue with 14-0. And congrats to Coco, Marge and the Stinger on your alma mater's victory!

Badgers 41, Punky Brewster 17. Go go Gophers, watch 'em go go go. Go 1-11, that is. After the Badgers get done wiping the Metrodome floor with the adorable maroon-clad rodents, it's on to some second-tier bowl or another the Badgers.

ACTUAL RESULT: BADGERS 41, PESKY GOPHERS 34. Give the boys in maroon credit for playing well and not giving up. But the Ax goes back to Madison and there's no reason to believe it will reside here any time soon.

Packers 28, Panthers 21. This one makes me verrrrrrry nervous. The Packers played beautifully last week and you always worry about a young team believing all the hosannas that shower down on them once success comes. And with the Lions and the Cowboys straight ahead, this is the sort of game that could go very badly. I'm guessing that Favre won't let the unthinkable happen, but it's going to be tough. The good news is that Vinny Testaverde has played the Packers a bajillion times and hasn't won too often, and now that he has his AARP card, it's difficult to see that changing this time around. Vinny would like to recommend the early-bird special at the Charlotte Waffle House, by the way - truly tasty.

ACTUAL RESULT: PACKERS 31, PANTHERS 17. You have to like the result, but Mason Crosby missed field goals again. It didn't matter against the Panthers, but it might matter a lot in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the Lions lost again so now the Packers have a little breathing room heading into the Turkey Day showdown.

Purple Helmeted Love Warriors 17, The Raiduhs 14. I suspect that if the Vikings lose this one, the Chilly Death Watch will be on. But even without Adrian Peterson, the Vikings should be good enough to avoid the Revenge of Daunte Culpepper.